


"He wrote about you, you know.”

by lyssajanet



Series: The Vestige and the Vessel [1]
Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls Online
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mention of pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-06 18:27:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18393923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lyssajanet/pseuds/lyssajanet
Summary: No one remembered to tell the General of the Lion Guard that his son had died during the Battle of Coldharbour, so when he confronts the Vestige Isla Kingston about what happened to his son and her lover, she has to not only confess that Darien was missing and presumed dead, but that he left her with something rather important. But apparently, the General already knows about their relationship, and something about it that she doesn't.





	"He wrote about you, you know.”

“He wrote about you, you know.”

That caught Isla’s attention. “He what?”

“Wrote about you,” General Gautier said. She still wasn’t sure what his first name was. “All the time even. More recently, but he mentioned you after he left Glenumbra. Angof and all that. After your little adventure together in Rivenspire I knew something was up.” General Gautier poured himself another drink, not looking at Isla. Which, to Isla, felt fairly justified. She had just told him that his son was dead. Missing after the Battle of Coldharbour, but for all intents and purposes, dead. No one had bothered to tell the general, and after being cornered while on business in Wayrest, Isla had to be the one to tell him.

It had gone about as well as expected. Isla still heavily blamed herself, either for not being able to drag him back under the cover of Meridia’s Shield in time, or for him being in Coldharbour to begin with. If she hadn’t been responsible for him leaving the Camlorn Guard, would he have gone to Rivenspire? Would he have advanced in the ranks of the Fighter’s Guild if he hadn’t left the service of the new Queen of Rivenspire? If she hadn’t loved him and wanted him there with her for the final push…

Of course the general would blame her, Isla thought as she told him what happened to his only son. His pride and joy, taken from him without even a goodbye.

“He never talked about any of the other girls he messed around with,” the general said, turning to look at her for the first time in a while. “Just you. Said some stuff about how impressive you were as a warrior, a leader. How much he admired you. Course, he also had to mention how pretty you were,” he laughed softly. “Then you started showing up more often, practically in every letter. Talking about how you were such a good friend, but I knew.”

“What?” Isla was still trying to recover from the fact that Darien wrote about her to his father, even all the way back in Glenumbra.

The general half smiled, still grieving his son but pleased by whatever he was going to say. “He really loved you. Knew he wouldn’t say it to me, not in a letter, but it was between the lines. Even asked me about his grandmother’s engagement ring, if I knew where it was and if he could have it.”

They never talked about marriage. There was an unspoken rule not to talk about their future together because it might not exist. One of them might not survive this whole Coldharbour mess, and it would only hurt the other to have to go on with their life if they had planned it out together. But it still happened, the hushed whispers about what they wanted to do when this was all over, the dropped hints about houses for sale in High Rock and how it should have at least two bedrooms, just in case.

But to heard the general confess that Darien was asking about rings? Isla felt her heart quicken and her throat tighten. It hurt to think about what they could have had, but Isla knew the tears that threatened to fall weren’t entirely out of sadness.

All Isla could so was stare at the wooden table in front of her. She didn’t even hear the general search through his bag until he spoke again. “Here,” he said. “I think he’d want you to have it.”

In his hand was a fairly simple but beautiful ring. Isla couldn’t make out the details, certainly not through the tears that definitely were about to fall. “General I can’t –“

“Call me Nathaniel,” he interrupted, setting the ring on the table. “And I won’t force you to wear it, but you’re the mother of my grandchild. You’re already going to be a part of this family, whether or not the two of you got married before…”

“That,” Isla finished.

“Yeah.”

“…”

“…”

Darien wanted to marry her. The Genera- Nathaniel Gautier wanted her in his family. He accepted their relationship, and even the unplanned child that resulted from it.

“Thank you, Gener- Nathaniel.” She reached out to touch the ring, looking up at him in confirmation that it was okay to.

He nodded minutely. “Now I wouldn’t do this if you were just some whore he knocked up and abandoned, by the way. How he didn’t accidentally make any more bastards before is beyond me but a miracle nonetheless. I love my son, but sometimes he really made me want to tear my hair out.” A more natural laugh came from him, throwing his head back and sighing deeply. It made Isla almost smile. “He intended to do you right and marry you, so it’s only fair that I honor that.”

Isla nodded in thanks. “Thank you again, Nathaniel. There’s been a lot of people offering their support to me in all this, but I can’t even imagine what it feels like for you. Losing a son like that. It truly means a lot that you would welcome me into your family like this, even after everything that happened. Please, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

Nathaniel scoffed. “Sit back and make sure my grandkid is doing well in there,” he said, gesturing toward her midsection. “I also expect to be told when they’re born. I want to be a part of their life.”

“Of course, of course. I’ll be sure that someone passes on the message. Thank you, again.”

“Quit thanking me and go to sleep. A woman in your condition needs rest, and it’s awfully late now.” He was right. The sun had already set hours ago, and they had been in this near abandoned corner of the tavern for quite some time now.

Isla nodded and went upstairs, rubbing her finger around the edge of the ring. Sliding the ring onto her finger, a warmth bloomed in her chest that she hadn’t felt in months.

**Author's Note:**

> i got kinda upset that darien's dad never had any unique dialogue after coldharbour, considering his son is for all intents and purposes dead. plus for my own vestige, it's fairly obvious that she would have something rather important to talk to him about, being the mother of his grandkid after all. she did REALLY try to avoid this confrontation, mostly because she didnt know how he would react to her saying "yeah your son knocked me up and then died before he could put a ring on this"  
> anyway follow me on tumblr and read more about darien and isla's relationship before That happened. @ partyatsanguines


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